I can’t really remember how I discovered Within Temptation. All I know is that I for some reason got really hooked on the album “The Silent Force”. Their operatic goth metal is very theatrical and pompous at times, but it stuck with me anyway, because of the terrific arrangements and melodies. “The Heart of Everything” is more of the same, but the highs aren’t as high. It’s even close to the point of being disturbing, so you might as well listen to the last album instead, where the songs are better.

I guess the band discovered that this style works very well, since the last album was a big commercial success. So now they want to repeat the winning formula again, and I guess it might work to some extent, but I would like to see some more variation next time around.